troops in afghanistan when the taliban attack. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. a special gathering to tackle america's serious economic problems. key figures from government, business and academia came together this week in chicago for the clinton global might be difference america conference. the event was the brainchild of former president bill clinton. i sat down with him in chicago for a candid interview on the country's debt crisis, the 2012 presidential race, and much more. >> mr. president, thanks very much for joining us. good to be here. first time you've done this as far as the u.s. economy is concerned. normally it's global issues. and i want to get to that, but let's talk about some of the big issues right now. jobs, jobs, jobs. it's a crisis, a game of chicken going on in washington right now between the president, the did democrats on one side, republican leadership on the other side. how big of a deal is this august 2nd deadlin